Test of survival and friendhsip
by lil-aber-lisa
Summary: they wake in a terrible state, but who are they and what do these people want with them


**Test of survival and friendship**

His head rolls forward as he begins to rouse. His vision is blurry but he can feel his arms shackled above his head and his muscles pulsating with cramp. His legs can barely hold his weight.

The dark haired man feels the chains bite bitterly into his wrists. He tries to determine his surroundings but it's dark and dank and his vision has yet to return fully.

"Who am I?" he says aloud. "Am I alone?" His mind is nothing but a dense fog, blocking all memory possible. "My name is Ro… Robert… no, that's not right. My god what have they done? My brain, my memory, my intelligence… do I have any?"

A soft mumbling can be heard next door.

"Hello. Hello! Can you hear me?" There was is no response.

"God damn you answer me, please!" Rodney yells.

"Aye, Aye I'm here."

"Who are you?"

"Eh? You don't remember? It's Carson."

"Carson?"

"Aye lad, Carson, Carson Beckett. Rodney stop playing games."

"Rodney? That's my name?"

"Don't be a fool Rodney, you're better than this… oh god someone's coming! Rodney please find a way out… oh god… Rodney love please!"

The doors of Carson's cell creep open, four men walk in holding an array of weapons from daggers and bats to whips made of leather and metal.

"My god please, I don't know, I don't know anything… argggghhhh."

Rodney's eyes widen to the sound of Carson's cries as the men begin to beat Carson. A sound of shredding material is heard; Carson's t-shirt has been ripped off to allow the whips more contact with his skin. Carson can hardly speak, only his cries of pain rip through his dry throat; his thoughts reciting prayers that they leave Rodney alone that he will find a way out for both of them.

"Stop! Stop I can tell you what you want to know, just stop let him go!" His voice echoes through the two cells.

The surroundings begin to morph in to basic, rudimentary shapes and Rodney blinks furiously to try and rush the process. The cries from next door have died down and Rodney pleads silently to himself that it's a sign Carson is alright.

The lock on his cell clicks and the door slides effortlessly across; two figures, tall and bulky, appear and scuttle forwards. The biting of the shackles around his wrists diminishes and his body slumps heavily to the floor.

"You will tell us what you know or else!"

Rodney looks up to them, their faces becoming clearer against the grey background. "I will, just please let him be," he says, hoping his voice carries the confidence he knows he does not have.

The men laugh between each other and drag Rodney to the cell next door. They sling him to the feet of Carson. Rodney's hand snakes up his leg; it is still warm, he is still alive. "Thank God," he sighs aloud. Carson whimpers faintly at his touch bringing Rodney back to the reality that he is really here.

Rodney's arm aches but not from where the shackles had been. On closer inspection he sees a puncture wound. "Injection? I was injected," he murmurs to himself as his brain begins to feel like it is functioning properly.

His limp body is hauled up opposite Carson's and is again shackled, only tighter than before. He opens his eyes and stares at the man in front of him: the slightly gelled fringe and those eyes that are so familiar. He closes his own and he catches a glimpse of this man sitting in a chair:

"Antarctica."

The guards look confused at the scientist. "We were in Antarctica together," Rodney stutters. He sees Carson smile weakly.

"Aye, Antarctica. Ya rememberin' somethin?" the doctor asks hopefully.

"You were in that chair… you had to concentrate and you set one of those things off."

"Ya' mean one of the drones? Aye."

One of the men leans closer to Rodney and says, "Drones? You come through the ring of stars and you know about drones?"

Rodney tilts his head towards him. "And your point?"

"Now, now you behave and he stays pain free, if not you get to see how tough we really can be," the guard threatens.

Rodney glances back to Carson's semi-naked, beaten body and yet he remembers something else. He turns to his friend and asks, "Do I have a scar on my right arm?"

The other guard stares at Rodney's arm. "Why do you ask? Surely you should know."

"Kolya," Rodney continues. "When the storm came they stabbed me." The men stiffen as Kolya is mentioned and Rodney sees their reaction. "Ah so you are aware of the Genii and more so of Kolya."

They see a smirk form on Rodney's face and take the response as disobedience. In one shot the torturer grabs the whip and swings it severely at Carson's body; the metal tips dig into Carson's already blood-tinged skin, creating new blood trails that snake down his back and sides.

"ARRRRRRGGGGHHHHH RODNEY!" Carson screams in agony.

"We warned you!" the guards shout as they swing again; Rodney pulls at his shackles to try and get free "No! No!" he cries desperately, "please, what the hell did you do to me?"

"Let the leader know we may need more sedatives!" one of the guards calls to someone out of view.

Rodney's eyes widen. "You used a sedative on me! How many times? This amnesia I've got is cuz' of you! You son of a bitch!" But his words only cause more trouble. The other man sneers as he lets go of the whip and draws a knife from his pocket. He slices at the remaining pieces of clothing left on Carson's body and, in one last attempt at his freedom; Carson tries to kick the guy.

"Kal come on stop wasting time, put on the boot if you have to," the taller guard orders.

Rodney glances to see what they are talking about. Carson's legs have been shackled up and a vice placed around one of them. "My god you have medieval Earth torture methods!" he says, both amazed and terrified. Rodney blushes profusely at the sight of the naked man, a man who is someone he knows well. The memories begin to return as the sedative wares off and his vision is now fully restored. Yet he still does not know what they want and why they seem more concerned about torturing rather than gathering whatever information they think he has. Finally he sits up to address the guard, "Okay, okay, what is that you want to know?"

Carson's feet begin to slip under the pressure of his weight and eventually he falls to his knees. His wrists jam hard on the manacles and he is left dangling, his knees barely scraping the floor. A deep cry from the doctor echoes through the cells; blood trickles down his arms then along his sides and thighs, before it drips into puddles on the cold stone floor.

Rodney feels nauseous and afraid, but he turns once more to the guard. "Please, you asked me to tell you what I know and yet you're not telling me what you want to know! I can't read minds."

"Tell us about the Ancients."

"The Ancients?" Rodney closes his eyes again while a memory trickles through his mind. "The Ancients are the builders of the stargate, well what you know as the 'ring of stars'. They were at war with the Wraith and so in the end they fled to another world and lived out their days there. We are descendents of them."

The man nods towards Kal who then brings a wooden chair into the cell and sits Carson on it. Carson sighs as the tension is released from his wrists.

"I need some water please?" Rodney asks politely.

Kal nods and responds, "You will get water. Now we must report what you know to our leader." With that Kal and the other man walked out leaving the door open, but just a few moments pass before Kal returns with a bowl of water and a cloth. He then releases Rodney's hands. "Clean him up!" he shouts, before the door is slammed behind him.

*******************************************

Rodney sits back against the wall for about 10 minutes; he clambers his way up and makes his way over to Carson and the bowl. "Carson? Carson I'm gonna clean you up," he says as he reaches for the cloth. Then he adds quietly, "Please forgive me." Once he rinses the cloth he starts to wipe his friend's forehead; the soothing feeling of the water on his face causes Carson to stir.

"Hmmm Rod…" he says faintly.

"SSShhhhh don't talk," Rodney whispers as he rinses the cloth again. Next he cleans Carson's wrists and then his neck.

"Rodney?"

"Yeah I'm here, you'll be alright. I'm cleaning you up so you'll feel better soon." He squeezes water onto Carson's chest; Carson winces as the water drips over his wounds.

"I wanna go home," Carson begins to murmur.

"I know Carson. We will be home, I promise. I promise I will get you out of here."

"And you?"

"Shhh, don't worry about me, just think about getting better." Rodney stops the washing, embarrassed about cleaning his friend further down, but instead he lightly holds Carson in his arms. They both close their eyes and pray together they will get through this.


End file.
